5 Weekly Must-Reads in UX

This week, I found plenty of great articles, most of them preparing the reader for 2016. Still, I decided to separate our weekly roundup from the yearly one, and share with you my top 5, which have nothing to do with New Year’s resolutions or the Holiday Season (well, except of one…).

This week’s top 5 reveal some interesting secrets every UX designer must know, from reaching Millennials to creating the best prototypes. I hope you’ll enjoy this one!

This week’s roundup starts with a post from the great UX blog UXswitch. In this article, Frank Gaine shares an experience of reading a Linkedin update by a UX designer named Aaron Kato, in which he talks openly about how delighted he is with the dashboard design of the Ford F150.

According to Gaine, that kind of post, which receive many liked and congratulatory comments, is unusual, because UX designers do not usually mention their connection to the design of a successful product, mostly because designers are usually conscious that they were part of a bigger team.

What I most liked about this article, which is somewhat different from all the regular “do’s” and “don’t’s” posts, is that it presents a problematic state, not often discusses, in which UXers tend to find themselves: on one hand, as designers, we are proud of our creation and want to share it with the world, but on the other hand, we must acknowledge the outcomes, usually involving poaching attempts, and neglecting the team’s shared effort.

Marc Nudelman writes in this article about the importance of a rising generation that must get special attention when it comes to e-commerce – Millennials. When it comes to reaching this tough yet important audience, UX designers must keep in mind 3 simple rules, which the writer mentions in the article. Nudelman talks about making it mobile, emphasizing the user experience, and enabling self-service solutions on one’s website. What I thought was most important in this article is the acknowledgement of the fact that even though Millennials may be young, they are the customers of the future, and therefore have major shopping power when it comes to e-commerce and web.

Marek Bowers presents in this article a 10-minute way of creating a UX prototype. The writer first gives 2 ways to create lo-fi prototypes, and afterwards starts a step-by-step demonstration.

Among the 10 different steps of the prototype creation, he includes creating multiple states for the tab groups, adding interactions of clicking tabs, etc. As a UXer, constantly living with technology, I can’t help but feeling connected to lo-fi prototypes, which show that sometimes the basics actually bring great results.

This article, written by Markus Pirker, prepares its readers to Christmas, when listing 10 gifts specially made for UX designers. The list includes different tools, virtual ones alongside “old-school” ones. Among the different gift ideas you can find a mini bluetooth speaker, a Userbrain Subscription, and a website Stencil Kit. What I liked about this article, as you might have guessed by now, is the door it opens to giving a special attention to UXers 🙂

This one, by Rosie Allabarton, lists the top 5 personality traits of mastering a career in user experience. UX design requires a very specific skillset and a very specific mindset, and it is not for everyone. This post goes to all of those who think of developing a career in UX design, and to those of us who want to make sure we’re doing it right.

This one, by Career Foundry, is an article I was proud to take part in. In an attempt to reach UXers-to-be, this great website gathered all the basic mustknows when entering this demanding yet rewarding field. Combined with quotes by leading UXers, it entails the definition of user experience and the process of web design, the qualities essential to becoming a UX designer, and even the way UXers see the world.